5 Reasons Why It’s Not Too Late to Implement a Modern Slavery/Forced Labour Initiative

Is your organisation one of the quarter of all who haven’t set up a modern slavery initiative? Don’t worry, it’s never too late.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing.”

– Edmund Burke

This quote rings especially true when applied to modern slavery and forced labour in the supply chain. Our research found that nearly one third of companies have confirmed (9%) or suspected (20%) an incident in their supply chains.

Recently, Procurious teamed up with Avetta to survey procurement and supply chain professionals and benchmark ethical sourcing strategies and gaps globally. We found that, alarmingly, 26% of companies have not yet established or implemented any processes for identifying and eliminating modern slavery from their supply chain. Less than half have established processes.

Why aren’t more companies taking action? If you fall into this group – or, if you have an existing program but haven’t revisited your strategy in a while – it’s time to act. We’ve highlighted five great reasons to get started today.

Reason #1 – There’s Room for Improvement Across the Board. 

Our research found that nearly 1 in 3 respondents have either confirmed (9%) or suspect slavery (20%) in their supply chains.

The Ethical Trading Initiative’s base code is a great place to start when evaluating your ethical sourcing strategy. How many of the following clauses do you monitor and enforce within your supply base? Here’s how your peers responded:

• Child labour shall not be used – 82%
• Working conditions are safe and hygienic – 74%
• No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed – 74%
• No discrimination is practiced – 68%
• Local living wages are paid at national legal standards – 60%
• Working hours are not excessive, complying with national law – 59%
• Work performed must be on the basis of a recognised employment relationship established through national law and practice – 53%
• Employment is freely chosen – 45% 
• Freedom of association and the right of collective bargaining are respected – 44%

Reason #2 – You Have the Power to Influence and Affect Change. Use It.

We all know the saying: “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Nearly 90% of those surveyed by Procurious and Avetta believe they are in position to drive and inspire change. When asked about the potential impact their sourcing and supply chain strategy can have on social, ethical and sustainability outcomes, 84% believe they have an important role to play.

Reason #3 – Modern Technology Provides Newfound Visibility Into Ethical and Sustainable Supply Chains.

Modern technology makes it easier than ever for procurement teams to tackle big issues like modern slarvery and forced labour. Specifically, tech advancements simplify the process of selecting, mapping, monitoring, assessing and collaborating with suppliers.   

Our survey found that supplier assessment platforms (55%) are the most common technology utilized by procurement and sourcing teams to improve ethical supply chain performance, followed by sustainable procurement rating platforms (32%) and predictive spend and supplier analytics (32%). 

“Procurement technology coupled with the right ethical sourcing strategies can help eradicate  modern slavery across the supply chain,” said Michael Ford, Avetta’s Global Lead for EHS and Sustainability. “Will technology get the job done alone? Of course not. But equipping your team with the right resources is a must. Supply chain complexity makes it impossible to tackle manually.” 

Reason #4 – Governments Are Not Doing Enough and We Need to Pick Up the Slack.

Typically, we want the government to stay out of business. However, this is one instance where it’s important for the government to step in and play a bigger role.

An overwhelming 90% of respondents believe governments should play a bigger role in creating and enforcing social and ethical supply chain guidelines. After all, this issue is much bigger than politics.

As mentioned above, procurement teams have significant power and influence. We need to use that power to pick up the slack and influence governments to focus more on issues like this.

“Governments are falling short and relying on brands and businesses to pick up the slack and enforce rules and guidelines on their suppliers,” says Jim Leung, a former Ethical Sourcing Executive at The Walt Disney Company.

When asked what governments around the world could do to help, he added, “more legislation around protecting whistleblowers and grievance processes would go a long way. But it’s more than just making more laws, they must enforce them as well.”

Reason #5 – It’s Never Too Late to Start Fighting Against an Evil Such As Modern Slavery.

Is it better to join the fight early and help your community, industry and society as a whole? Of course. It’s also never too late. 

Whether you have a program or not, let’s all commit to reviewing our strategy, improving our processes and closing any gaps. There are still people out there falling victim to modern slavery and forced labour. And as long as that’s still happening, it will never be too late to implement or improve modern slavery and forced labour initiatives within your organisation.

If you’re interested in learning more about what you can do to help, check out Avetta’s Procurement, EHS and Safety webinar.